14 Males/5 Females--A play with the mood of a Hitchcock film or a Poe short story, "Thorn in the Flesh" is the story of one fateful night when an addiction group under the leadership of a counselor named Sam meets for therapy. Among the group are people dealing with violence issues, self-image issues, food and chemical addictions, mental issues, and various phobias. However, on this one night, new people have been assigned to the group by a local judge and, in an unusual turn of events, and much to the chagrin of the group members, the judge also invites an award-winning reporter to the session. Before all can be sorted out, the judge himself arrives, and in an unusual turn of events, the people present find their ailments transforming as they learn what they all have in common and where all their pasts had crossed once before.